End the speculation: AVB wants Spurs to offer Bale new deal to keep him in north London

Andre Villas-Boas has urged Tottenham to reward Gareth Bale with another lucrative contract.

The Welshman signed a £75,000-a-week
deal last summer that runs until 2016 but Spurs are prepared to double
the player’s weekly salary to tie Bale down to a new five-year
agreement.

The Tottenham manager believes Bale’s
stunning performances this season merit a new deal and feels such a
public show of the 23-year-old’s commitment would end speculation his
future might lie away from White Hart Lane.

Award winner: Bale's form has seen him scoop the PFA Player of the Year and FWA Footballer of the Year gongs

Awesome: Gareth Bale has led Tottenham's top-four charge with a number of world-class performances

Villas-Boas also suggested the change
of management at Manchester United and Jose Mourinho’s likely departure
from Real Madrid would help Tottenham keep hold of their star player.

The Spurs boss said: ‘It would be good
for him (to sign a new contract), and I think he deserves it for the
season he's had. Obviously we could put to bed every single speculation
that's coming out, but it would be excellent and I think a reward for
what he has achieved this season.

‘Am I confident he will stay? Yes. I
have those guarantees. You can always make your own understanding from
what the player says and how he feels.

‘Gareth is very, very driven to be
successful but you can see that he is enjoying his football and all of
the indications that I have are that he will continue.

‘I'm pretty sure that whatever David
(Moyes) does in the market will be excellent, but to get a player of
Gareth's dimension is not in our interests but also very, very difficult
to get.’

Tottenham travel to Stoke on Sunday
with qualification for next season’s Champions League now out of their
hands after Wednesday’s 2-2 draw at Chelsea left Villas-Boas’ side in
fifth place.

The Spurs boss, though, said Tottenham
must strengthen again in the summer regardless of whether they finish
in the top four and insisted there is still time for Arsenal or Chelsea
to ‘slip up’.

He said: ‘I think if you want to move
forward we have to understand that if we don't make it we won't make it
in the future. You always have to progress with that in mind.

Double champion: Bale won both PFA Player of the Year and Young Player of the Year

‘I think the budget might be different
because the money that is available from the Champions League is
different, but the commitment from the club must be the same.

‘If you want to bridge that gap you
have to invest, you have to create conditions to be in there the next
year. In my opinion and my perspective, one thing shouldn't and won't
depend on what is obtained this season.

Vital: Bale has scored a number of crucial goals for Spurs, including this winner to beat Southampton 1-0

‘We have to do our job in the two
remaining fixtures and it's time for somebody to slip up. At the moment,
we can only focus on ourselves, try to get the maximum points possible
wait for something to happen.

‘It is a different scenario from the
one we had before Chelsea, but we still have to do our job against Stoke
and Sunderland to dream of this possibility.’